Lord Heron Thunder
Lord Heron Thunder is the ruler of Rindfell. Backstory Thunder Ascension was born on the 13th of November, in 1271 – the sixth but third surviving child of Nebula Condor and his wife. He received his bird name – Heron – early in life. It was given to him by his mother, when she noted how even at such a young age, her son was patient and watched things with a curious, calculating eye – much like the herons at the ponds they would sometimes visit. Tragedy struck when the boy was only three, however, when his mother fell ill and died. The next few years often found young Thunder in the mews or aviaries, watching and sketching the birds there. Being the youngest son of Condor and his wife, nothing much was expected of the boy, and he was often left to his own devices, when not being taught all that a young nobleman should know by the castle’s tutors. Though once again tragedy would come, during the first Langean war. The second-born son, Nova Harrier, went as commander of a small troop of men, sent as support for the war. He was killed in a skirmish in late summer of 1284, at age 21. The family, though saddened by another loss, continued on. However, whatever peace they may have had was not to last, for that winter, the oldest son and heir – Cosmos Goshawk – fell ill and died, at age 24. His wife, having been unable to produce an heir – only one miscarriage and an infant who died soon after birth – could not bear it and ultimately took her own life. This left 14-year-old Thunder as the only surviving heir to the Ascensions. Life changed for him then. No longer able to live the relatively carefree life he had before, he now had to be taught everything he needed to know to rule someday. And rather than being slowly taught it from the time he was young, he had to learn it all, and learn it fast. The already-timid Thunder, as a result, became even more quiet and withdrawn, especially as he was continually compared to his older brothers, and made to feel as though he would never measure up. To add to his fears, there were those who whispered it among themselves – though never where others such as the Ascensions themselves would hear – that perhaps the young boy poisoned his older brother, since he was the only thing standing in his way to becoming the heir himself. If he was aware of the rumours, he never showed it or told anyone. Instead, he focused on being the best he could be, though with all the pressures he now had to face, it was not an easy task. Upon reaching his 16th birthday a few years later, he was told that he would be marrying his second cousin – the princess Aurora Oriole Ascension, daughter of King Falcon and Queen Maia – as soon as she was of age. Soon enough she was, and the two were married. The next year, in 1293, she gave birth to a son – Moon – and the 21-year-old Thunder now had an heir of his own. However, the happiness was not to last forever, for that summer, his own father fell ill and died, leaving Thunder as the Lord of Rindfell. The young man – who was really never meant to rule – would now have the weight of an entire region resting on his shoulders. Upon taking on the role of Lord, he chose to now go by his bird name, Heron. Some whispered that perhaps Heron had done his father in himself… after all, now that he had an heir of his own to inherit someday, why wait for him to die naturally? Why not take control of the region now? If he was aware of these murmurs, he never showed it. He kept silent behind his mask of emotionlessness he’d carved and learned to wear as he was being trained to rule. Happiness would soon come again, though, with the birth of his second son in 1296. Other children came along – three more daughters, born in 1300, 1306, and 1308 – and all was well… for a while. Tragedy would once again visit the Ascension family, however, in the summer of 1312, when their second son was killed in a tragic accident. After a period of grieving, things began to look up, as the heir – now going by his bird name, “Bittern” – began to court a young woman. It was no surprise when the two soon wed, and the next year – in April of 1314 – their son was born. However… even this happiness could not last. During the Roleplay In the summer of 1314 – while attending the coronation of the rising queen, Destiney – Courdon attacked. Being the closest male relative of Destiney, it was Bittern’s task to present her with the crown. Upon the arrival of Courdon’s backup army, however, his task changed to that of keeping her alive – something he died trying to do. He only had a brief appearance in the roleplay, comforting his wife, Aurora, after the Bloody Coronation. Post-RP Upon finally reaching Rindfellafter the Bloody Coronation, Heron threw himself into his work as a coping mechanism. Already something of a workaholic, it was Bittern who was able to drag him away from his work when he buried himself too deep. But now, with him gone… there was no one able to do that. Heron, still grief-stricken and mourning the loss of his only son, and now dealing with the fact that his wife hated and blamed him – not to mention the rumours that he’d wanted all this to happen – and to add poor eating and sleeping habits and numerous other stresses to the mix, eventually caused him to push himself too hard, and he collapsed from exhaustion. After that, he was put on a very strict ordered bedrest, and was only to leave his bed when absolutely necessary. He was, for the most part, only given a small amount of work each day, to force him to rest. Once he completed the allotted amount, that was it. No more until the next day. When recovered enough to move about more freely, he began to once again spend time with the birds in the mews and aviaries, when he had finished the day’s allotted work. Seeing as being amongst the feathered creatures relaxed him, the castle’s healers could not complain. However, a full recovery would take time and patience, and if one thing was certain, Lord Heron would have plenty of the former. Personality Though one might not realise it when first meeting the Stoic Lord of Rindfell, he is actually a rather introverted man, preferring to stay in his study and manage the affairs of the region from there, rather than engage in social interaction. Spending much time with the Ascension’s birds as a child, he would often hang back and observe things before asking questions about what the keepers were doing, due to his shy (yet curious) personality. This quiet, calculated approach is what earned him his name, “Heron”. This changed, however, when he was 14, and (due to the deaths of his older brothers) was expected to be the heir. His father had little tolerance for questions (Heron’s preferred learning method, as well as repeating back to the person to confirm he had the information correct), and so the already-timid boy became even more quiet and withdrawn. He soon learned to simply do as he was told, no questions asked. His father also has little patience for unnecessary emotions, and so Heron – already fearful of what his father thought of him – began to forge a mask of emotionlessness. There would be no room for weakness. This, however, also cultivated a fear of rejection, as he never knew from a day-to-day basis whether his attempts to please his father would be accepted or thrown back in his face. As a result, he became uncertain in many other types of interaction, for fear of things going badly. This led to many problems in his adult life, for after he was married, he was never certain how to show affection to his wife – mostly out of fear of rejection, and because of perceived indifference. Having not received affection from his own father, he was uncertain how to show it himself. (He ran into this issue as well, as his children grew older – again, uncertain how much affection to show, lest he be rejected by the people he cared about the most.) As a result, most would view Heron as being cold and uncaring, when in reality, it’s simply fear. A visceral fear he’s carried most of his life, of letting down and disappointing those he cares about. Of showing weakness to others, lest he be torn apart. Fics/other appearances None yet. Category:Medieval characters Category:NPCs